Hearts Treasure
by Dream Keeper
Summary: Yeah. Wufei finds Heero at a bar one night and says some things he proabaly shouldn't have... see where it goes from there.


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Dream Keeper: Well folks, standard yada. I do not own Gundam Wing. *sniffs* I wish I did but I don't. The G-boys and girls belong to their respectable owners. I am just using them for this twisted fic. I promise to return them, only slightly worse for the wear when we're through with them. Um.. Anything else?  
  
Christa: Normally we would NEVER work with this pairing but a friend issued us a challenge fic and we couldn't turn it down without tarnishing our honor as writers.  
  
Dream Keeper: Our friend, Star_Dancer did this just to be cruel. She knows that we think that Wufei is the only g-boy who should REMAIN straight. Anyway, here's the fic. Hope you like it.  
  
Christa: Oh, and before we forget? This is a ONE SHOT!!!!! That means no more after this! Nothing! Zip! Nada! None!  
  
"Blah" = speech (No duh!)  
  
/Blah/ = thoughts  
  
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Heero sat at the bar staring into his cup. He'd ordered a substantial amount of whisky but he couldn't bring himself to drink it. His life was in shambles, but he couldn't just drowned himself in alcohol, much as he'd like to at the moment. His logical side argued against it and so he sat, not heeding anything that was going on around him.  
  
Relena had been hounding him again. He didn't understand why in the world she couldn't get it. He'd told her before, right after the Mariemaia incident, that he wasn't interested in her. Yet she refused to believe him. She couldn't seem to get it through her head that he didn't love her. It was like she thought that if she chased him long enough he'd just give in. But he wasn't giving in. He was continuing to run.  
  
"I can never be more than her friend," he whispered to his glass. He lifted it to his lips to drink, but set it back down. He still couldn't bring himself to drown his misery.  
  
"Why are you so down?" someone asked on his right side. Heero continued to ignore him, thinking that the person would just go away. "Do you really think that facade is going to work on me?" he continued.  
  
Heero turned to level the person with his patented death glare, but stopped short when he found himself staring at one of his friends. "Wufei," he said, surprised.  
  
Wufei took a seat and ordered a scotch before turning back to his friend. "Yeah, its me. What are you trying to drown?"  
  
"Relena," Heero replied bitterly, returning to his contemplation of his drink.  
  
"Maybe it'd be better if you tried drowning the real thing," Wufei joked.  
  
Heero snorted and choked out a laugh. "Don't tempt me."  
  
"What's she done?"  
  
"She's still stalking me," Heero told him, allowing his resentment to color his words. Wufei merely rolled his eyes over the edge of his glass. "She can't get it through her impossibly thick skull that I don't, haven ever, and won't ever love her. She seems to think that all she needs to do is follow me long enough and I'll marry her. I've already had to move four times."  
  
"This will be your fifth?" Wufei ventured to guess.  
  
"Yeah. I'm thinking of moving back to L-1. She's expecting me to move onto L-5."  
  
"Why not try earth?" his friend suggested.  
  
"No. I don't even want to be on the same planet as that madwoman. She's enough to drive a man to drink."  
  
"And yet you don't."  
  
"I can't bring myself to. Wish I knew why. I've never been able to get myself good and thoroughly drunk before. It was firmly impressed upon me that a soldier can't ever let his guard down. I guess my reflexes haven't left me even after these past seven years.  
  
"Guess not," Wufei agreed as he finished off his glass and ordered another one.  
  
"So what are you here for?" Heero asked, changing the subject.  
  
Wufei drank deeply from his glass before he replied. "I got fired. Une said that there were too many complaints about me. I guess it had something to do with all the fights I was getting in." He shrugged and looked off towards the floor where the people were dancing. "So I've come to get thoroughly drunk before I clean my desk out."  
  
"Why so many fights?" Heero wondered aloud. He too looked towards the dancers and wished that he could be as carefree as they seemed. He'd always liked dancing, but he'd never dared to. Too many things could happen in crowds and his soldier instincts were still there.  
  
"For this and that," Wufei said, his words becoming slurred as he ordered a third drink.  
  
"Some days I envy you," Heero said suddenly.  
  
"Why?" Wufei wanted to know, his curiosity getting the better of him.  
  
"Because of your sense of justice maybe. I'm not really sure. There has just always been something about you that I admired. You were borne a warrior, but I think you were the most sensitive of all of us, even Quatre."  
  
"What?" Wufei gaped. He hadn't expected to hear that. "Are you serious?"  
  
"Quite," Heero replied. Neither of them said anything else for the longest time. Wufei continued to drink, and Heero continued to contemplate the meaning of his existence. The music played, people drank, people danced. None of them noticed the two former Gundam pilots sitting in their midst. None of them gave them a second glance.  
  
"You know, Heero. I really wish things had turned out differently after the war," Wufei said, hours later. Heero glanced at him and noticed that his eyes were glazed like that of a person who is impossibly drunk, knows it, and is trying to keep everyone else from noticing. (Don't own that line. Belongs to Mercedes Lacky.)  
  
"So do I," Heero agreed.  
  
"What do you think would have happened had we all stayed in touch instead of drifting away?" his friend mused.  
  
/Wow. Wufei's really different when he's drunk. He's not so harsh./  
  
"I'm not sure," he replied.  
  
"Are you in love with someone?" Wufei asked, seemingly unable to stick to one subject.  
  
"No. I'm not in love with anyone," Heero answered without a second thought. "Why?"  
  
"I was wondering," Wufei murmured as he lifted his glass again. It was almost full but Heero reached over and took it from him.  
  
"I think you've had enough to drink already," he told his friend firmly. /God, if he drinks anymore he won't be able to get himself home. Scratch that. I'm not sure he can now./  
  
"Do you actually care?" Wufei asked. His voice sounded odd, like it was laced with an emotion that Heero just couldn't put his finger on.  
  
"Of course I do. You're my friend, and you're drunk. I'm taking you home," he stated as he started to stand. He stopped when Wufei reached out and put a hand on his thigh.  
  
"Do you think anything could have happened between us, had we stayed in touch?"  
  
/Oh, god. He has lost it. Now I know he's had too much to drink./ Heero thought as he stood stalk still. He was so surprised that he couldn't move. His paralysis didn't even diminish when his friend leaned foreword and whispered, "Do you think anything can happen between us now?"  
  
Wufei sought to kiss him but Heero pulled back, knowing how drunken his friend was. Wufei smiled sadly and passed out. Heero had to lunge to catch him before he hit the ground.  
  
/I am never letting him drink this much again,/ Heero thought as he carried him out of the bar. /He said way too much that he wouldn't have if he'd been sober. But could he have meant it?/ He felt his mind start to whirl with the possibilities, but he forced himself to calm down and concentrate on carrying his comrade.  
  
When Heero reached his apartment he had to set Wufei down to fish his keys out of his pocket. Then he picked him back up and carried him like a sleeping child over to his bed. He noticed that his shirt was soaked with sweat and peeled it off of him. Wufei groaned in his sleep and reached out towards him, but Heero ignored his searching arms.  
  
/He would never forgive me./  
  
Instead he pulled the covers up to his friend's chin and turned out the light before he changed into a pair of sleeping pants. He ached with need and pent up emotion, but he forced himself to ignore it. Before he could change his mind he grabbed a blanket from the closet and headed out to sleep on the couch. It wasn't nearly as comfy as his bed, but it was safer. He couldn't risk doing anything he'd regret.  
  
/No matter how much I want him./  
  
~*~  
  
When he woke the next morning it was his regular transition from sleep to full awareness. He still couldn't remember a time when he hadn't woken that way. No, unlike most people, the war had taken away his security, making it impossible for him to linger in the dream world.  
  
/Nine o'clock/ he thought, looking at the clock on the wall above him. /Wufei should be waking up soon./  
  
Unable to summon the energy to get up, he stayed lying on the couch for a long time before he rolled onto his side and shut his eyes again. He was still tired from last night, and it wouldn't really hurt to try and get a few more minutes sleep.  
  
***  
  
Wufei woke slowly, the effects of his hangover doing quite a job on him. His head was aching like someone had hit him with a hammer and his mouth tasted foul. He was so preoccupied with assessing his physical condition that it took him much longer than usual to become aware of his surroundings.  
  
/Shit, what happened last night?!/ He stayed still, waiting for his memories to catch up with him. They were hazy at best, muddled by the effects of all the alcohol he'd consumed. He couldn't seem to piece more than a few minutes together and it was nearly impossible for him to string them together in any semblance of order.  
  
/Well, seeing as the bed is cold, I was alone last night. Where could I be?/ Then he remembered who he'd been drinking with. /Heero. I must be at Heero's apartment./  
  
Slowly he stood and walked carefully towards the door, trying his best not to jar his head. It hurt just to be standing and the light in the apartment wasn't doing anything to help him. All it succeeded in doing was making him grouchy. It wasn't often he drunk himself into a stupor and now he remembered why.  
  
/Why didn't he just save me my misery and end it while I was still sleeping?/ he thought wryly as he entered the living room. The sight that met his eyes made him stop and his breath catch in his throat. Heero was lying on the couch, apparently asleep and dreaming. His blankets were tangled around him and the way he was positioned made him look much younger than he was. Somehow the scene was enhanced by the light that drifted gently through the slightly open blinds, spilling across the sleeping figure and lending him an otherworldly quality.  
  
/God, he looks like an angel./  
  
Somehow he found himself closing the distance between them as quietly as he could. Heero shifted in his sleep, turning onto his back and resting his head in the crook of his arm. Before he could even register what he was doing, Wufei leaned down and brushed his lips across Heero's. The simple act of kissing his soft lips sent an electric bold shooting down to his groin. Suddenly he was painfully aware that Heero could, and probably would, kill him. He backed hastily away and sat down on a stool.  
  
/God, what am I _thinking_? Have I lost my mind entirely?/  
  
***  
  
Heero, for his part, was still lying paralyzed on the couch, trying to convince his heart to slow down. He had not, for the life of him, ever imagined that Wufei would actually go as far as to kiss him. He'd thought about the possibilities hundreds of times, but he'd never thought his fantasies would be fulfilled.  
  
/What the hell just happened? Was he serious last night? Was he just using the fact that he was drunk as a cover?/  
  
He stayed still for the longest time until he thought he could "wake up" without it looking suspicious. Still, when he opened his eyes and sat up, he could have sworn he saw Wufei blush.  
  
"Mornin'," he muttered, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.  
  
"Morning," Wufei said gruffly. "Do you have anything to drink?"  
  
"You have your choice of pop or water," he replied as he folded his blankets.  
  
"Yuy, you have no idea what a hangover remedy is, do you?" Wufei growled, cradling his head in his hands. A pang of guilt stabbed at his friend, but he ignored it, opting to finish what he was doing first.  
  
"No, I've never had need of one," Heero retorted as he left the room momentarily to put the blanket back in the closet. Then he went into the kitchen pantry and opened it. He could be heard rummaging around for a moment before he gave a grunt of satisfaction.  
  
"What's that?" Wufei asked, curious in spite of himself. Heero merely ignored him and put a beat up kettle on the stove to heat. Then he busied himself peeling and orange and squeezing the juice into a tall coffee mug. Then he added about two teaspoons of sugar and some kind of strong smelling red powder. When the kettle started shrieking, Heero took it off the stove and poured its contents into the cup as well.  
  
"Here, drink it," Heero told him as he pushed it towards him. Then he fixed himself a cup of something else.  
  
"What is it?" his friend asked again, eyeing the mixture dubiously. When Heero didn't answer, he hesitantly took a sip of the mixture and nearly spit it out. Somehow he forced himself to swallow it. "This is terrible!"  
  
/I wish I had a camera right now. His look is priceless./  
  
"I never said it tasted good. It's actually supposed to be for fevers, but it works about the same for hangovers. It's the cayenne pepper in it."  
  
"You are trying to kill me," Wufei accused him mildly as he forced himself to drink the rest of the awful brew.  
  
"Not intentionally. I just grew up with people that believed that if it didn't taste horrid, it wasn't going to cure you." He moved over and sat down on one of the stools next Wufei. "I learned to make a whole bunch of this kind of crap. Dr. J or Odin was always needing something."  
  
His voice grew bitter as memories came flooding back to him. He'd labored hard to forget them, but somehow something always triggered something in his mind that brought the memories back and made him start over. His control was much like a house of cards. One breath of wind and the whole thing came tumbling down.  
  
"Do you want something to eat?" he questioned, changing the subject when it looked like Wufei was going to ask something. "I don't have much, but you can have whatever you can find in the pantry."  
  
"Thank you," Wufei said but he stayed seated where he was.  
  
/God, why do I feel so nervous?/ Heero wondered as he tried very hard not to fidget. To keep his mind focused he decided to concentrate on how much his friend had changed. He'd gotten taller, that much was for certain. He was half a head taller than Heero was, much to his amusement. He'd also filled out. No more was he the skinny teenager with half developed muscles. He'd gotten broader at the shoulders and finally grown into the beautiful masculinity that his adolescence had only hinted at. His hair was still long, and falling slightly out of its rubber band.  
  
/He's definitely gorgeous./ He made the mistake of looking up to study Wufei's face. His eyes met his friend's onyx ones and suddenly he felt like a bird trapped in a snake's gaze.  
  
"Heero?" Wufei's face reflected confusion and something else.  
  
"I'm going to take a shower," Heero said quickly, thrusting himself away from the table. He left so quickly that Wufei was left staring after him.  
  
Heero heaved a sigh of relief as he shut the bathroom door behind him and locked it. His heart was racing again and he was feeling something he'd never felt before. It wasn't simple lust. He'd experienced that enough times to tell the difference between it and. the other feeling.  
  
/Damn! I should have known better. Getting too damn relaxed in this time of peace. I can't let my guard down!/ he berated himself as he stripped out of his clothes and turned on the water. /But why shouldn't I relax? Peace has supposedly been obtained. True peace. Why should this era need soldiers like me? It doesn't./ he concluded as he stepped into the spray of water.  
  
Immediately almost all of his thoughts were driven out of his head as the glacier cold water poured over him. He gasped and cursed aloud as he turned the temperature up just a bit farther. Cold showers were one thing, but he wasn't exactly willing to turn himself into a Popsicle.  
  
/There is only so far even I can push myself/ he thought as he turned the water up to a much higher temperature once his body had decided to calm down. /What happened to me out there though? I've never felt like that before./  
  
***  
  
/What just happened?/ Wufei wondered as he stared after Heero. /He left so suddenly. Was it something I did? And what's up with the shower all of a sudden? That almost sounded like an invite./  
  
Still confused about his friend's odd behavior Wufei wandered back to Heero's bedroom in search of a comb. He found one sitting on his dresser and proceeded to untangle his hair. /I hope Heero won't mind me using it./ When he was finished he started to put his hair back up into its customary horse tail, but for once decided against it. He didn't have to go to work after all, and he felt like being lazy as long as he could.  
  
/Or as long as Heero will let me/ he thought wryly. /He'll probably want me out of here as soon as possible. He still has a life to live, after all./  
  
He stood staring around the room for a moment, taking in the sites. Over all it was plain, with nothing to really mark it as belonging to anyone. The dresser was bare, the nightstand held only an alarm clock and a glass of water. Even the bed was made, or at the moment unmade, with pristine what sheets. The only thing that made it look different from a hotel was the one photograph in a silver picture frame.  
  
Wanting a closer look at it Wufei walked over an picked it up. When he saw it, he couldn't help but smile. It was a picture all of them had taken the night before their Gundams had been destroyed for the last time. Somehow both he and Heero had been dragged into it and there, with their very battered gundanium friends backing them, they'd been captured on camera. Both of them seemed to be protesting, but everyone else was laughing, just happy to be alive and have the ESUN safe again.  
  
/Come to think of it, that night was one of the best I've ever had. I don't think I've ever felt as comfortable with anyone as I do with those four./ He shook his head wistfully as he set the picture down but glanced down when he heard a small flutter of paper falling. Somehow another picture had fallen from behind the first and now he was staring straight at a picture of himself. He picked it up to study it.  
  
He'd been caught in one of his rare moments of relaxation, sitting on the cockpit door, leaned up against the gundanium hull of his friend. One of his knees was drawn up towards his chest while the other dangled over the side of his perch and his head was settled on his resting against his hand. He was facing away from the photographer, starting towards the sunset.  
  
/When was this taken? And why would Heero have it?!/  
  
He looked up when he heard the lock on the bathroom door click, sounding someone's pending exit. The door opened and Heero stood staring at his friend, clothed only in a towel. Wufei made a sound between a choke and an exclamation of surprise as he blushed and set the picture down, knowing he'd been caught.  
  
"Wufei?" Heero asked, sensing how uncomfortable his friend was.  
  
"I'm sorry for my invasion of your privacy," Wufei answered as he left the room, letting his hair fall foreword to curtain his face. He was blushing so hard that his face burned with it. Shame coursed through him momentarily before he shoved it away.  
  
/Why should I be ashamed? It was an accident after all./ That settled, he turned his mind towards breakfast.  
  
***  
  
/God, what does he think of me now? How'd he even find that damned picture?! I could have sworn it was secure./ Heero mentally cursed himself as he dressed. He was very embarrassed not only that Wufei'd had such a profound affect on him, but that his secret had been partially revealed.  
  
With a defeated sigh Heero flopped back onto his bed very ungracefully and closed his eyes. /Now how will I explain it? There has to be some way to salvage the conversation. Oh in the name of hell, I hope he didn't go into the other bedroom!/ He bolted upright, suddenly fearful for his secret, and walked the short distance from the bedroom to the kitchen as calmly as he could.  
  
"Heero, I apologize. I didn't mean to invade your privacy like that. I just picked up the picture on the nightstand and when I put it down the other one just fell out."  
  
"Its okay," Heero said, cutting his friend's apology short. "I just want to know one thing."  
  
"And that is?" Wufei answered guardedly.  
  
"Did you go into the guest room?"  
  
Wufei blinked in surprise for a moment before his temper awake like a great dragon uncoiling from its slumber to punish a man who'd stolen from his treasure horde. "Do you distrust me so much as to accuse me of such trespasses? I have my honor Yuy, and you've just insulted me more than you likely realize. Why, by my ancestors, would I do something like that?" he yelled, his eyes blazing with the promise of a fight.  
  
Heero relaxed instantly and walked past his friend to the refrigerator, showing his back to him. He knew that Wufei would understand the trust he was showing. "No, I didn't expect you would, but you never truly know a person until you. er. never mind," he said, busying himself with finding something to eat. All he came up with was leftover Chinese food. He wrinkled his nose as he set it on the counter.  
  
"Want some?" he offered.  
  
"Not in the slightest, though thank you. I prefer the authentic to the wanna-be crap they serve at takeout restaurants." He snorted once to punctuate his point and leaned back against a cabinet.  
  
Heero just looked at Wufei a moment before he broke out into laughter. True laughter, not the forced sound that he'd made himself acquire when he was training, nor the maniacal sound that issued from his lips when he'd first learned how to cut down his enemies in his Gundam. Wufei was so surprised that he did nothing.  
  
"What's so funny?" he asked finally, after convincing himself that he wasn't going to have a heart attack.  
  
"Sorry, it was just the way you said that. I don't know why, but it was funny." Wufei nodded slightly, still trying to wrap his mind around the prospect of a HAPPY Heero.  
  
~*~  
  
After they ate, neither of them could come up with anything to talk about. Normally they wouldn't have bothered, but somehow the silence that surrounded them today seemed strained and tight. It was more than just irritating but their fumbling tries to pick up the thread of conversation all failed when one fall back into their familiar one or two word peach pattern.  
  
Finally Wufei could stand it no longer. "Why do you have that picture of me anyway?"  
  
Heero felt a wash of fear race through him as he searched his mind frantically for any answer that wouldn't sound stupid. To his dismay, none presented himself and he was forced to think of a lie, but somehow when he did come up with one, it refused to pass through his lips.  
  
"I. that is. um."  
  
/This is too funny. Me, the perfect soldier, scrambling for words. I never thought it was possible. I've always had an answer for everything, no matter how unpleasant. So why am I hesitating now? Why don't I just tell the truth? Well, as Odin told me, follow your emotions./  
  
"How about I just show you why I have it?" he asked at last.  
  
"Show me?" Wufei echoed, not understanding. What was it that Heero had to show him?  
  
The doorbell rang and both of them jumped. Heero made to grab for the gun he no longer had and Wufei moved into a defensive stance. Both of them caught themselves at the last instant and forced their honed soldier instincts to sleep again. Heero walked over to the door, putting on a persona of absolute calm.  
  
"May I help you?" he asked politely as he opened the door, trying to put a friendly look on his face. Immediately upon seeing his visitor his face darkened into anger and he slammed the door shut.  
  
"Heero! Heero! I know you're in there!"  
  
"Good for you!" he shouted through the door as he locked it and moved away.  
  
"I know you love me Heero! Quit hiding from me!"  
  
"Go away you freakish stalker!" Heero growled back. To himself he muttered, "One of these times I am going to _kill_ her and be done with it. No one should have to go through this torment."  
  
"Have you tried letting her see you with other girls?" Wufei asked.  
  
Heero had evidently forgotten he was there because he started at his voice, his eyes flashing like a trapped animal's. "Yeah, I've tried that. She's convinced herself that I'm trying to replace her with them."  
  
"Why don't you try it then?" he asked.  
  
"Her? She's so much like a child that it's not even funny. I know I'm the same age but I personally think that mentally we're worlds apart. Her childishness is what won us true peace, but I grew up because of the war. She it seems did the opposite. She's a spoilt rotten child that needs to be turned over someone's knee."  
  
"Heero!" Relena yelled again. "Why won't you admit what you feel for me?"  
  
"If you do not leave right now I will kill you!" he shouted.  
  
"Be careful who hears that," Wufei warned. "She's still a very powerful politician."  
  
"I know. Why do you think I live here and don't have a job? She makes it damned near impossible. I got fired last week when she showed up at the shop I was working at. Damn near set the place on fire when she jerked the welder out of my hand and threw it on the ground."  
  
Wufei winced sympathetically. "Now I'm really surprised she's still alive."  
  
"Heero! If you couldn't kill me when we were teenagers, what makes you think you can kill me now?"  
  
"Six rounds and a gun," he hollered.  
  
There was a stunned silence before she sputtered, "That's illegal Heero!"  
  
"Not if you're working for the Preventers," he stated plainly. Many foul words were heard and they heard crashing and screeches of rage as she pounded on the door.  
  
"You don't work for the Preventers," Wufei said flatly.  
  
"No, but you do."  
  
"They're rubber bullets," Wufei warned.  
  
"At point blank range they'll still kill. Especially a head wound."  
  
"Want a less violent way to get rid of her?" Wufei offered, an idea suddenly coming to him.  
  
"I will take any way that presents itself right now."  
  
"Anything?" Wufei asked, not sure if he should.  
  
"Anything short of killing myself."  
  
"Fine," Wufei agreed. Slowly he stood up and walked over to his friend. "Take off your belt and unbutton your pants."  
  
"What?" Heero asked, not sure why Wufei was making such weird demands.  
  
"Don't take this the wrong way. Its just stage play," Wufei told him.  
  
"What are you planning?" Heero demanded.  
  
"She's seen you with girls, right?"  
  
The light bulb in Heero's mind suddenly went on as he came to fully comprehend Wufei's words. It only took him an instant to follow his instructions.  
  
"Shirt too," Wufei told him as he mussed up his hair. Again Heero complied as he submitted himself to his friend's ministrations. Relena could still be heard screeching outside the door but they ignored her for the moment.  
  
***  
  
When Wufei was finally satisfied that Heero was in a properly disheveled state, he backed up to survey his handiwork. Heero looked like he'd just gotten out of bed and thrown on a pair of jeans.. to make himself decent. Or at least, that's what he wanted Relena to think.  
  
"Go answer the door," he told Heero as he moved into the hall, just out of sight. "But don't let her all the way in."  
  
"Where are you going to be?" Heero wanted to know.  
  
"Around," Wufei replied cryptically. Heero shrugged and walked again to the door. This time he answered it and Relena, who'd been leaning against it, fell into his arms. He glared at her as he roughly shoved her backwards.  
  
"What do you want?" he growled, leveling her with his best Glare.  
  
"I want you Heero," she whined, her eyes filled with tears that threatened to fall. "I want you by my side, just like Noin has Zechs."  
  
"And I've told you before that its absolutely not possible," he told her, letting his voice become exasperated.  
  
"Why, because you're too afraid to crack the shell of ice around your heart? You're just hiding Heero. I know you love me and I'll never stop loving you, no matter how long I have to wait for you to come to your senses!" She threw her arms around him.  
  
"Stop with the theatrics Relena. I don't love you and I never will. The 'ice around my heart,' as you've put it, is gone. I don't need it anymore." He pried her arms from his waist and stepped back from her. "You're not what I look for in a lover, much less as a spouse. Once I might have looked at you as a friend, but now you've tested my patience so far you're lucky I haven't gone postal on you."  
  
"Heero!" she protested.  
  
"Heero, what's she doing here?" Wufei asked as he walked into the room. Both Relena and Heero turned to look at him, but where Heero looked at him thoughtfully, Relena gaped, her mouth opening and closing like a fish's. Wufei was dripping wet and clad in nothing but a towel. "I thought we were going to spend the morning together?"  
  
"We were, until she showed up," Heero agreed, letting more irritation creep into his voice.  
  
"Relena, when are you ever going to learn when to stop chasing Heero? Did you really think he'd be that interested in you? I hardly think its possible."  
  
"Why?" she demanded, "Am I not good enough for him?"  
  
"In our eyes, no. Don't you even know by now the type of lover Heero looks for?" Wufei sauntered over to his friend and wrapped his arms around his neck before giving him a very heated kiss. Heero responded in kind and the young VFM was so embarrassed that she turned her head away.  
  
"You shame me Heero, going to these measures to try and deny what you feel," she said finally.  
  
Their kiss broke and Heero gritted his teeth as he mentally counted to ten. "Relena, these are not measures to simply 'try and deny my feelings' for you," he stated flatly. Her eyes danced with hope, but it was crushed by his next words. "As I have said before I have never loved you. I cared for you like a guardian should care for a child, that's all. I have known since I was twelve just what I am Relena. I am well and truly gay and there is no way in hell you're changing it."  
  
Wufei could feel Heero's body trembling beneath his arms from his pent up rage as he nibbled on his ear. When he heard his confession his heart skipped a beat and he nearly gasped aloud. This was much more than he'd bargained for.  
  
/Yuy's actually gay? I never thought for a minute that it was true! Maxwell said it was, but it was Maxwell for crying out loud./  
  
"Heero?" Relena asked, real tears spilling from her eyes. This time she seemed unsure until Heero reached up and laid his hand over Wufei's, lightly stroking it with his thumb. He looked back at his friend with such an unguarded gaze of utter affection that even Wufei found himself believing him.  
  
"I think I'd better go," she said finally before she turned and fled down the stairs. She tripped and nearly fell down them, but she recovered quickly and got into her pink limousine as soon as she reached it. It took of with a screech of rubber and left a cloud of dust in its wake.  
  
It started to rain then and after Heero watched the limo drive out of sight, to make sure it was really gone, he closed the door. Wufei could sense that he wanted to say something, but he stayed quiet. Instead, Heero merely moved away from him and settled down on the couch.  
  
"Nice acting. I would have believed it, had I not known what was going on," Heero said after a moment. "The towel was a good touch. I don't think we could have done better had we planned it all out."  
  
"Certainly," Wufei said, suddenly unsure of himself.  
  
/Could he really have just been acting? He is, no, was the perfect soldier after all. But could he really have faked that look?/ Unable to keep his thoughts in hand, he went to re-dress. When he immerged from the bathroom again a moment later, he saw Heero just where he'd left him, but he'd leaned his head to rest in his hands, as if it had become to heavy to hold up. At his friends soft footfalls, he sat back up and looked at him.  
  
"Glad that its over?" Wufei asked casually as he took a seat on the couch opposite Heero.  
  
"You have no idea. Its like some great weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I don't know how its possible, but dealing with that was harder than fighting with Zero." He laughed softly to himself.  
  
"Any relationship is harder than fighting a war all by yourself. Its because the only person you have to protect is yourself."  
  
"I have no idea how that would matter, but somehow I believe its true."  
  
Wufei nodded knowingly. "Well, I know it is. Try living with your complete opposite for a year and then tell me how you feel. Er. well, that's never going to happen. You're finally rid of her," he said, embarrassing himself. /God, I can't believe I just told him about Meilan!/  
  
"I don't know. Somehow I think my complete opposite would be different."  
  
"Really?" Wufei asked skeptically. "How so?"  
  
Heero looked at him with a long, measuring stare for a moment before he shrugged. "Why do you want to know?"  
  
He sat back and feigned his indifference. "Just curious. So anyway, you didn't answer my question from earlier."  
  
Heero sighed and looked away. Something akin to resignation and apprehension flashed across his face as he considered the question. Then he finally stood and motioned for his friend to follow. Wufei shrugged and did as he was bade.  
  
/I wonder what he's up to. Could the answer be that difficult?/  
  
They stopped outside the guestroom door and Heero turned to look at him, uncertainty warring with determination in his eyes. "I will show you on one condition."  
  
"Which is?" Wufei asked, his curiosity perked. It wasn't often he learned a secret about one of his fellow pilots (er. ex-pilots) and absolutely never about Heero.  
  
"You will not laugh." For a second Wufei thought he was joking, but it became quite clear that he was deadly serious when he stood there, waiting for his answer.  
  
"All right," Wufei agreed. "I won't laugh."  
  
Heero nodded once before setting his hand on the door knob and twisting it, pushing the door open even as he stepped into the room. Wufei followed him and was struck dumb by the sight inside. No words could describe what he felt, and all he could do was gasp.  
  
***  
  
Wufei's sharp intake of breath made Heero glance quickly over at him. He'd never let anyone into this room before and if he was laughed at now, he was certain he'd die. It had taken him more courage than he'd like his friend to believe to show him this room.  
  
/What is he going to say? Is he going to hate me? God, please don't let him hate me. Wait a moment, when did I start praying?!?/  
  
Heero's mind screamed in impatience but outwardly he kept his face impassive. Only a twitch of a muscle in his jaw gave away his anxiety as Wufei started foreword to inspect the painting before him. There were dozens of others in the room, but Heero had just finished it three days ago so it was still sitting on the easel.  
  
"This is beautiful," Wufei fairly whispered as he gazed at the painting in awe. Then he turned back to look at his friend. "Why were you so worried that I'd laugh? The painting is wonderful."  
  
"I don't like showing people my work," Heero explained quietly, letting a blush stain his cheeks.  
  
"These are yours?" Wufei sounded surprised for some reason.  
  
"What did you think they were?"  
  
"I wasn't sure," the dark haired pilot admitted. "it never occurred to me that they'd be yours. You never really seemed the type to pain." He refused to meet the other's eyes, thinking himself shamed. Instead he went back to examining the mural.  
  
It was beautiful, done on a very large canvas. The paints depicted a forest scene during the spring. Mists were still clinging to it, as if they'd been set there for once purpose only; to shroud the beautiful and mysterious figure there. He was sitting up in a tree, looking towards the sun as it filtered down through the leaves. His hair was long and black, almost like a woman's, but he was most certainly masculine. His muscles were clearly defined, as he wore no shirt. In fact, his only clothing was his pair of buckskin breeches.  
  
One hand was put across his upraised knee, and the other trailed down beside him. In that hand he grasped a panpipe, but it seemed forgotten. His Asian features were set in an expression of rapture. The beautiful wings that were delicately attached to him seemed like they were made of gossamer as they shone with beautiful blues and reflected the greens of the leaves so near him. You could almost forget about the background all together and just concentrate on the faerie.  
  
"Now I understand. It's a little different, but the pose is primarily the same."  
  
"Yes. What do you think of it? I mean really?"  
  
/I am going to go crazy. I don't think I've been this nervous since I had to save Relena in AC 196./  
  
"What exactly are you asking?" Wufei pressed.  
  
"You're not mad that I used-"  
  
"No, Yuy, I'm not. Why are you so edgy?"  
  
/Should I tell him? I've wanted to for so long. Do I dare? What am I afraid of? What have I got to loose? But what if he's disgusted with me? What if he hates me? Could I live with myself then? Can I live with myself if I don't tell him? What am I so afraid of?/  
  
"Yuy, earth to Yuy."  
  
Heero blinked and realized that he'd been quiet for too long, keeping company with his thoughts. If only it wasn't so hard for him. Why had he been cursed with the ability to do everything but express his feelings?  
  
"You weren't faking that earlier, were you," Wufei said. Heero immediately looked up to meet his friend's onyx eyes, trying to read them. He couldn't see anything in their black depths. No anger, no silent accusation like he'd expected. They only held something that Heero just couldn't place. So, having no other choice, he answered with a nod.  
  
***  
  
"You weren't faking that earlier, were you," Wufei said. Heero immediately looked up to meet his onyx eyes, as if he was trying to read something in their depths. Whatever he saw, it didn't seem to reassure him. If anything, he became even more nervous as he nodded in answer.  
  
"You look like someone who is about to see their life end," Wufei told him seriously.  
  
"Most people tend to yell and scream when they find out," he said finally as he shifted nervously from foot to foot.  
  
/Is he really that nervous? Never mind, he's not the type that would go through a charade like this as a joke. I doubt he's even used to dealing with stuff like this. Poor guy. Its times like this that I wish Dr. J had died long before he met Heero./  
  
Wufei walked over to and put his arms around the other's neck. Heero seemed quite surprised, but he didn't let that stop him. In one swift movement he leaned down and captured the other man's lips in a kiss. Given that the kiss was chaste, it was surprising when Heero started to tremble. Finally Wufei pulled away and smiled wryly.  
  
"I would be a hypocritical ass if I did that."  
  
"Wufei?" Heero asked, unsure of himself.  
  
"I'll be frank with you. I've liked you since the moment I met you, but I didn't realize it before we went our separate ways. I came here last night to find you, and see if there could. can be anything between us."  
  
"You said that last night but I didn't believe you," the slightly shorter man said. "I thought you were just plastered. I didn't even consider the fact that you might actually mean it."  
  
"Heero, you will find that there are few things I say when I'm drunk that I don't mean. Alcohol doesn't do much to me but loosen my usual reservations. But you're avoiding my question again."  
  
Heero looked away, presumably to gather his scattered thoughts. When he didn't say anything for a long span of time Wufei gently grabbed his chin and tilted his head so he'd look at him again. Heero's breath caught and he took it as a good sign.  
  
"I. I think I would like it if there were. more than just friendship between us," he confirmed. Wufei nodded and bent to kiss him again, but Heero pulled away, wrapping his arms around him.  
  
"Heero?"  
  
For his part, all Heero could do was manage a forced laugh. "I don't know what to do. People assume that I'm still the perfect soldier. that I'm indestructible." He swallowed and tried to speak but his voice seemed to be lost.  
  
"Tell me what you're feeling," Wufei told him, keeping a respectful distance away.  
  
"Truthfully? I'm scared. I think that in many ways I'm still just a child, for all my twenty-two years. I still don't know how to handle situations like this."  
  
Wufei nodded, understanding. "Duo told me as much." His friend glanced sharply at him and he proceeded to explain. "Duo has a big mouth. He told me that you two were lovers while you were in school. I thought he was lying then. Was it true?"  
  
"Duo has a big mouth, especially when he's trying to seduce someone."  
  
"I prefer not to remember that," Wufei said uncomfortably. "Duo is. _not_ my type. But you know, it doesn't matter. You think that you're still a child? I think we all are. We all got shoved into a war we didn't know how to fight, so we learned to shut it out somehow. You did it by refusing to feel, Maxwell did it by becoming cocky and refusing to cry. Trowa did it by pulling away inside of himself, and I did it by not caring. To an extent, I'm still a reckless child. I haven't learned to be subtle like you because I let myself feel too much."  
  
"Sounds like we might actually balance each other out nicely," Heero commented as he started to relax. "Maybe we can teach each other."  
  
"I'd like that. But there's one small problem."  
  
"What's that?" he wanted to know.  
  
/Do I dare ask him right now? Well, neither of us has a job but. this is getting very complicated, very fast. What have I gotten myself into?/  
  
"Neither of us live on the same colony," Wufei stated simply. Then he waited for his friend's reaction. Heero seemed to consider it for a long while before shrugging.  
  
"So? One of us will just have to move to where the other lives. Unless," he became uncertain. "Do you just want a 'fuck-buddy' as Duo so nicely described our romps?"  
  
For once in his life the young Chang boy found himself struck dumb and at a loss for words. He'd never even considered the prospect with anyone. That was one of the reasons he'd respected Meilan. "How could you even ask something like that?"  
  
/Does he really think so little of me? Or is he that scared?/  
  
"I'm sorry. I just didn't know what to expect. and I've no way to pay my half of the rent." Somehow Heero seemed to shrink, becoming incredibly vulnerable at the same time.  
  
"You could always sell your paintings," Wufei suggested, his hurt completely forgotten.  
  
"Sell my. Do you think they're even good enough?" he asked, as if the thought had never occurred to him.  
  
"Good enough? You'll probably sell out your first showing. These are better than most of the others I've seen. How could anyone not like them?"  
  
"All right then. I guess I could do that." Heero seemed as if he'd regained all of his confidence and for some reason he held out his hand. Wufei looked at him as if he were crazy and shook his head.  
  
"This isn't a business deal. It's a relationship. Do you want me to show you how partners seal a deal in relationships?" Heero nodded and the taller boy stepped closer. Then he leaned down and gave him a kiss, this time much less chaste and more like their heated kiss from before. When finally they broke apart, both of them were panting.  
  
"That was. enjoyable," Heero breathed, causing his lover to laugh.  
  
"I keep expecting to hear the words 'Ninmu Ryokai' come out of your mouth," Wufei explained.  
  
"No, this is no mission," Heero said as he pulled his lover close again for another kiss.  
  
~*~  
  
Several Months Later  
  
Heero was lounging on the bed with him for once. They were both taking a break from work and neither wanted to leave the others company for any length of time. In fact, the only time they'd been out of bed all morning was to get coffee and crawl back _in_ bed.  
  
Wufei was working for the Preventers again. Lady Une had taken him back after he'd proven that he could be level headed, though he had his suspicions that Heero had talked to her. He knew that she'd offered him a job too, but Heero had turned it down. He was concentrating entirely on his painting and it was working marvelously. He'd already had two shows and every time he'd sold everything. People were even starting to higher him to do things like book covers and redesigning pictures. Everything was going wonderful.  
  
/I am so glad I took that chance, going to see him. I don't know where I'd be without him./  
  
"So, are we ever going to get out of bed, Koi?" Heero asked him as he stretched. Wufei couldn't help but let his gaze rake over all of the other man's exposed flesh.  
  
"Not if you keep doing things like that," Wufei told him, an evil glint coming to his eye. "I mean, what sane person would get out of bed with a delectable treat like that in front of them?" His lover merely rolled his eyes and lobbed a pillow at him. "I mean, come on Heero. Acres and acres and its all mine."  
  
"Some days I think you only want me for my body," Heero joked.  
  
"Well, that is a definite perk, but I like the mind better. You can do a whole lot more with it."  
  
"Really?" his lover asked, rolling over to pin him to the bed. "Are you sure about that?" He started to lean down into a kiss but someone knocked at the door, shattering their peaceful mood. Both men heaved a sigh and looked at each other with resignation written all over their features.  
  
"Are you going to get it, or should I?"  
  
"Well, I'm at least decent," Heero muttered as he got off the bed and walked down the hallway. It was true since he was wearing sleeping pants. But Wufei couldn't help but let out a sigh of regret as he watched his lover's back disappear down the hall.  
  
/If that is that sales woman again, I'm going to wring her neck. She's like a vulture and she always pops up at the worst times. Though maybe if I hung a do not disturb sign on the door and tied Heero up to the bed--/  
  
A high feminine voice screaming something broke him from his thoughts and then a gunshot nearly stopped his hear.  
  
***  
  
Heero wanted to scream in frustration when someone knocked on the door. He and Wufei hadn't gotten to see each other much during the past week and he wanted to make up for lost time.  
  
"Are you going to get it, or should I?"  
  
"Well, I'm at least decent," Heero muttered as he got off the bed and walked down the hallway. Quite a few things flashed through his mind that he'd rather be doing (Oh. works on so many levels!) but he ignored his imagination and answered the door. If he was lucky he'd be able to get rid of their visitor quickly.  
  
"Hello, may I help you?" He asked as he opened the door. The very shocking sight of Relena standing there made him speechless.  
  
/I thought I got rid of her! What's she doing here? Has she come up with some new lame brain scheme to get me?/  
  
"Heero. I've come to say goodbye to you," Relena said steadily. Her hands were clasped behind her back and Heero guessed it was to keep her hands from shaking. "I've come to realize over the past few months that there's absolutely no way I'm ever going to be able to have you. You have Wufei now."  
  
"I'm glad you understand. I'm sorry that I hurt you," he told her, relief washing through him.  
  
Relena smiled sweetly at him and shook her head. "No Heero, you don't understand."  
  
"Relena? What do you-"  
  
"If I can't have you, THEN NO ONE CAN!" she screamed as she brought the gun from behind her back and fired it. Heero never even had time to move as the bullet thudded right between his eyes.  
  
***  
  
Wufei was up and running before the echoes of the shot had even died away. He heard screaming in some part of his mind, but all he could register was the maniacal laughter coming from the door. When he saw exactly who was standing there his anger flared, but he stopped dead when he saw Heero lying the floor. There was blood everywhere.  
  
"You see now? You should have left him to me," Relena said, her eyes glazed with madness. Wufei started towards her as a sudden calm descended upon him. "I loved him. No one takes what I love away from me!" she screeched at him.  
  
Wufei reached out to her and laid his hand on the side of her face. She flinched like she was expecting him to strike her, but relaxed when he didn't. He couldn't help but smile at her though his tears. "And no one takes what I love away from me," he told her right before he snapped her neck.  
  
The gun she was holding clattered to the floor as her body sagged. Police sirens screamed as they came nearer and nearer to the apartment, but it was already too late.  
  
"Heero, oh god, Heero!" Wufei sobbed as he dropped to the floor and crawled over to his lover. "No, how could this happen? Why? WHY?!"  
  
/Why did she do this? Why you? Why not me?/  
  
"It won't matter soon, love," he whispered, wiping at his tears with a blood stained hand. Quickly he reached over and picked up the gun that Relena had dropped. His life was over now. Heero was gone. He had nothing to live for.  
  
/I'm coming love. Wait for me/ Wufei thought as he lay down next to his lover. Then he put the gun under his chin and gently pulled the trigger.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~  
  
Dream Keeper: That's IT! I quit! I've been sitting here working on this thing for months because I couldn't think of anything to do with it! No one who ever challenges me thinks of anything to give me for guidelines! Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and post it. Happy New Year everyone, since I probably won't post anymore until next year.  
  
Christa: Hey, Star_Dancer? You never said they couldn't die!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~ 


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